Our Actions Have to Answer These Questions!

When we’re intentional about delegation and openness, especially in a way that truly develops the strengths of each team member we lead, we’re well on our way to providing them with the answers they’re already asking to three very important questions. Without answering these questions effectively, we just won’t be able to earn the kind of buy-in that produces a strong team or yields a high level of employee engagement - and our organization’s overall performance will suffer as a result!

In Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, John Maxwell says that everyone needs to know these things before we can develop a solid connection with them, “Can they help me? Do they care for me? Can I trust them?”

That spoke so loudly to me and Cindy that we dedicated a section of one of the lessons in our Emerging Leader Development course to helping participants identify the mentors they’ve had in their lives who exemplified those things and we challenge them to detail how they can do that same thing for each of the team members they lead. She and I both have several people who have done exactly that for us and we work to pass that forward to the people we serve on a daily basis. 

In an article I read recently called The Role and 5 Essential Responsibilities of a Team Leader, said that a team leader has the responsibility to “Care for the health, safety and welfare of your people; You have a duty of care to look after your people.” While that article is referring to a team leader as a specific position within an organization, one that really seemed to be tied to what I saw in a Lean Manufacturing structure, I believe this particular “responsibility” applies to anyone who wants to build a team environment among the individuals they’re charged with leading!

When we delegate in a way that helps our team members grow, we show them we can help them. When we commit to a spirit of openness, admitting to our weaknesses and owning up to our mistakes, we prove that they can trust us. And when our actions show them that we really care for their health, safety, and welfare, they have no doubt that we really care for them!

With these team leadership skills embedded into all that we do, the results will never be hard to see!